Kelly to face Clapp in Mass. Amateur final

Friday

Jul 18, 2014 at 7:26 PMJul 18, 2014 at 7:33 PM

Following two days of stroke play and four matches held over three days, John Kelly of Twin Hills CC and Doug Clapp of Old Sandwich GC have earned a spot in the finals of the 106th Massachusetts Amateur Championship at Kernwood CC in Salem.

Both competitors will be making their finals debut and one will become the 73rd individual to have won this title that dates back to 1903. Their final 36-hole match starts at 7 this morning. Kelly advanced with a 6-and-5 victory over Matt Parziale of Thorny Lea GC. Clapp had to work a little harder to top Jake Shuman of Blue Hill CC, 2 and 1.

Laura Diaz rallied for four birdies down the stretch to shoot a 2-under 69 for a three-stroke lead over Lydia Ko and Lee-Anne Pace after the second round of the Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio. Diaz, who has devoted more time to her family than competition in recent years, led by four shots after shooting a bogey-free 62 in the opening round. She is at 11-under 131 at the tournament's midpoint. Ko, bidding for a second LPGA Tour title as a pro to go with the two she won as an amateur, shot a second consecutive 67 to share second with South Africa's Pace, who had a 68.

BASKETBALL

Judge: No attorneys on stand for Sterling

A judge has barred Donald Sterling's lawyers from calling opposing counsel to the witness stand in a trial over the proposed $2 billion sale of the Los Angeles Clippers.The judge on Friday also barred testimony about Sterling's mental competency and rejected a bid to strike the testimony and reports of two doctors who found Sterling lacked the capacity to conduct his own business affairs. The judge said the results of Sterling's examinations have been in the newspapers and in public and can no longer be considered secret. A lawyer for the team's potential buyer, Steve Ballmer, said outside court that he fears Sterling is stalling the sale despite the incredible value he'd get for the team. Attorney Adam Streisand said Sterling is on a ''suicide mission by a madman.''

Udonis Haslem has signed a two-year, $5.6 million contract with the Miami Heat. Haslem has spent all 11 of his NBA seasons with the Heat and is the franchise's all-time rebounds leader. He and Dwyane Wade are the only players to appear on all three of Miami's championship teams. The Miami native opted out of a contract that would have paid him $4.6 million next season to give the team flexibility during free agency.

Forward Drew Gooden has re-signed with the Washington Wizards. The 6-foot-10 Gooden appeared in 22 regular season games for Washington last season, averaging 8.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest. Over 10 playoff games, Gooden averaged 3.4 points and 4.2 rebounds.

Free agent forward Eric Griffin has signed a one-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks. The non-guaranteed contract for Griffin was announced Friday. The 6-foot-8 Griffin played last preseason with the Miami Heat before going overseas. He is playing for the Mavericks summer league team in Las Vegas and averaged 9.8 points while playing 19.3 minutes in the first four games.

People familiar with the moves say the New Orleans Pelicans have agreed to contract terms with guard Jimmer Fredette and forward Darius Miller. The 6-foot-2 Fredette averaged 5.6 points in 49 games last season with Sacramento and Chicago, shooting nearly 48 percent from 3-point range. The 6-8 Miller was New Orleans' second-round pick in 2012. Last season, he averaged 4.4 points in 45 games.

BASEBALL

Yankees' Sabathia will have knee surgery

Any hopes the New York Yankees had of CC Sabathia returning to their ravaged rotation this year are over. General manager Brian Cashman says Sabathia will have season-ending surgery on his right knee Wednesday. Cashman says indications are the left-hander will be ready for spring training next year, but there are no guarantees. The team had all but ruled out Sabathia returning in 2014 after he had a setback early this month during his minor league rehab assignment.

The Atlanta Braves have requested unconditional release waivers for struggling second baseman Dan Uggla, parting ways with a former starter still owed over $18 million over the remainder of this year and next. In his fourth season with the Braves, the 34-year-old Uggla was batting .162 with two home runs and 10 RBI in 48 games and 130 at-bats. Uggla lost his job to Tommy La Stella when the rookie second baseman was called up May 28. The Braves' patience with Uggla appeared to wear thin last Sunday when he was suspended one game for reporting just 30 minutes before the start of a game in Chicago. Uggla, a three-time NL All-Star, hit .179 with 22 homers and 55 RBIs last year.

Former major leaguer Jose Offerman testified Friday that he neither swung his bat at two minor leaguers nor caused their injuries during a scuffle that broke out when he was hit by a pitch during a 2007 comeback attempt. Offerman took the stand in a civil assault and injury trial in federal court in Bridgeport. He is being sued by a former member of the Bridgeport Bluefish who claims Offerman injured him when the two-time All Star charged the mound with his bat while playing for the Long Island Ducks. According to the lawsuit, Offerman was hit by a pitch, charged the mound and hit catcher Jonathan Nathans and pitcher Matt Beech. Nathans suffered a head injury that ended his baseball career and Beech broke the middle finger on his non-throwing hand. Nathans, now an attorney in Portland, Maine, is suing Offerman and the Ducks for $4.8 million.

HOCKEY

Panthers sign defenseman Kulikov to deal

The Florida Panthers are keeping defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, signing him to a three-year deal on Friday. Kulikov has spent each of his first five NHL seasons with the Panthers, with 24 goals and 75 assists in 313 games. He logged the second-most minutes for the Panthers this past season and was a regular on Florida's power-play and penalty-kill units. Kulikov set career-bests this past season with 81 games played, eight goals and 66 penalty minutes.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed defenseman Simon Despres to a two-year contract worth $900,000 per season. The 22-year-old Despres appeared in a career-high 22 games for the Penguins last season, finishing with five assists. He scored six goals and added 16 assists in 36 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. His plus/minus ratio of plus-19 led the team.